KUGAARUK, Nunavut — On a Thursday afternoon in mid-February, members of Edmonton’s 3rd Batallion of Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI) are notified about a downed aircraft somewhere in the Arctic.

A half hour later, commanding officer Lt.-Col. John Errington is calling all company commanders to notify them about the mass casualty situation, planning what’s required to send approximately 500 soldiers to search for survivors in a harsh environment.

In less than 24 hours, about 80 soldiers are floating through the bone-chilling Arctic air near Kugaaruk, Nunavut, after jumping from two Hercules planes at 1,000 feet. With their rucksacks, most of them are pushing the load weight of the parachutes at 350 lbs. Another group of soldiers are hiking from town through eight km of rough terrain.

His eyelashes caked in frost, 2nd Lt. Max Peetsma can’t stop smiling as he makes his way out of the drop-zone following the jump that lured many of the locals to come out and see.

“It’s pretty exciting. You’re pretty hopped up on adrenaline when you bail out of the door of the plane. I didn’t really notice the cold,” said the 25-year-old Peetsma, carrying snowshoes in temperatures hovering around -37C.

“When you first jump, you feel like you’ll be up there for hours and before you hit the ground, you feel like you’re smoking on ‘er pretty good. I landed in a patch of snow so my landing was really good.”

The jump is part of Exercise Arctic Ram, which involves about 10 days of training in the areas around Kugaaruk, alongside Canadian Rangers and the Arctic Response Company Group comprised of soldiers from the 38 Canadian Brigade. The experience is meant to give soldiers the necessary skills to operate in the harsh winter climate of the Canadian Arctic. It’s the furthest north the 3 PPCLI has ever conducted training.

The soldiers spend the nights in tents heated with camping stoves. Blocks of ice are melted for drinking water and cooking. Other supplies and equipment, such as three BV206’s (snow cats), 18 snowmobiles, a couple of generators and tents for command posts, are flown in by Hercules planes on 46 flights.

Over the next 24 hours, the soldiers will push out 15 km, then another eight, making it increasingly complex to replenish supplies.

Those in command have been planning the exercise for the past six months. It also includes snowmobile patrolling, advance winter warfare skills and survival training with the local Canadian Rangers.

“The most important thing for us is to take away key lessons for operating in the high Arctic should this happen for real, and it has happened for real in the past,” said Capt. Doug Russell, one of those responsible for logistics, equipment maintenance and transportation. “The big thing that they are going to take away from this is their ability to learn from the Rangers and learn how to live off the land.”

On this particular jump, nobody was injured — something Errington said is rare.

“You look around at the beautiful sun and this unbelievable terrain up here, it’s something that these guys will never forget,” he said.

WHAT'S IT LIKE IN KUGAARUK?

On the far northern tip of mainland Nunavut live approximately 800 people in the isolated community of Kugaaruk.

Formerly known as Pelly Bay, the hamlet holds the record for the coldest wind chill ever in Canada at -92C. The only way in and out of the community is by air.

When Capt. Cole Petersen — operations officer of the 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry (3 PPCLI) — was searching for locations to conduct Arctic training exercises for the military, he noticed many planes bound for Europe fly over Kugaaruk. The community is also located near key areas of development for natural resources, said Petersen, making it a vital area of Canada.

“When we considered what our resources were and how much we wanted to develop in the training scenario, we figured Kugaaruk was the perfect mix of challenge,” said Petersen, who came to Kugaaruk for the first time in September to meet with locals and town administration.

“You get a feeling for how vast Canada is when you come up here.”

With a budget of $5 million, planning for Exercise Arctic Ram began last April.

On the first day, a Hercules plane comes in with 26,000 lbs. of cargo. It’s a race against time to conserve fuel and make sure the running plane doesn’t freeze.

Getting the soldiers and equipment here is one thing, said Petersen, sustaining them for two weeks in the Arctic is another.

“We need to make sure we have a proper plan in place to keep these guys supplied so that they could survive in a climate like this,” he said.